C/D Comparo - LS3 Chevrolet Super Sport vs Dodge Charger SRT8 392 HEMI
12-27-2013, 04:49 PM
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C/D Comparo - LS3 Chevrolet Super Sport vs Dodge Charger SRT8 392 HEMI Reign Supreme: SS meets SRT8 in a precipitous battle of modern-day muscle
DECEMBER 2013
BY MIKE SUTTON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DANIEL BYRN
Chevrolet laid its groundwork for the new Super Sport (SS) with a profile body for the 2013 NASCAR circuit. The racing Chevy SS and the racing Dodge Charger would have each been that rarest of things: a V-8 rear-drive Sprint Cup competitor modeled after a V-8 rear-drive production car. But the SS arrived just as Dodge quit the series, so fans were cheated.
Instead, the speedway rivalry that never was has simply moved out to the parking lot. The production SS squares off here, on a rainy weekend, against the Dodge Charger SRT8. The latter has strutted alone in Detroit’s arena of civilian rear-wheel-drive muscle sedans since 2009, when GM pulled Pontiac’s plug and with it the SS’s excellent predecessor, the G8. While both the Charger and SS are more sensible than their two-door siblings, the Challenger and the Camaro, these old-school tire smokers cement their relevance by not really giving a damn about it.
Still, Chevrolet wants you to know that its new halo sedan is the brand’s first rear-drive four-door V-8 in nearly 20 years. The SS is as American as can be for a Euro-inspired car built in Elizabeth, South Australia, which is absolutely nowhere near Sydney or any place with a working telephone. Known as the Holden Commodore SS in its home market, the Chevy SS is GM’s third attempt to domesticate one of its excellent Australian models—after the ill-fated Pontiac GTO coupe and G8 sedan.
The Commodore’s current VF chassis (so named for the Aussie fashion of giving each new version of a model its own two-letter code) has been updated from the VE structure that we loved in the G8, but it’s still the same bits that's underneath the stubbier Chevrolet Camaro and the stretched Caprice PPV police cruiser. Additional aluminum in the suspension, subframes, hood, and trunklid helps the SS shed more than 100 pounds from the G8. Holden paid special attention to overall refinement and noise insulation, while a new electrical system supports all of the company’s latest safety and entertainment gear, including the feared switch to electric power steering.
A low-volume unicorn for the brand, the handful of SSs to be imported each year will all be pretty much fully equipped and ready to boogie for $45,770, including a $1300 gas-guzzler fee slapped on the sole engine—a 415-hp, 6.2-liter LS3 V-8. GM’s six-speed 6L80 automatic is sadly the only transmission offered. Although a power sunroof ($900) and a spare tire ($500) are optional, the sporty suspension, Brembo front brakes, and 19-inch wheels with performance tires are all standard.
The Charger SRT8 was last updated in 2012. It’s now a thoroughly modern muscle car, with a sinister mien, a 470-hp 6.4-liter Hemi V-8, driver-adjustable adaptive suspension, and even larger Brembo brakes all around. The Charger also is automatic-only, with just an old five-speed unit until ZF’s ubiquitous eight-speed enters service.
Although budget Super Bee versions of the 2014 SRT start at $45,380 (including $1000 in guzzler tax), the regular SRT is $3000 more and closer to 50 grand when equipped like the Chevrolet. Our test car was a 2013 model mechanically identical to the 2014 SRT; it blossomed from its $47,475 base price to $55,150 with the 2013-only 392 Edition appearance package ($2495), as well as a Harman/Kardon audio system ($1995) and Laguna leather seats ($1495), plus summer performance rubber and a few electronic watchdogs and gizmos that are standard on the SS.
As chest-thumping totems for their respective makes, these cars are here to claim bragging rights. So, after the obligatory burnouts, we headed for the last vestiges of fall color in rain-soaked northern Michigan to see which car best re-imagines the great American performance sedan.
DECEMBER 2013
BY MIKE SUTTON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DANIEL BYRN
Chevrolet laid its groundwork for the new Super Sport (SS) with a profile body for the 2013 NASCAR circuit. The racing Chevy SS and the racing Dodge Charger would have each been that rarest of things: a V-8 rear-drive Sprint Cup competitor modeled after a V-8 rear-drive production car. But the SS arrived just as Dodge quit the series, so fans were cheated.
Instead, the speedway rivalry that never was has simply moved out to the parking lot. The production SS squares off here, on a rainy weekend, against the Dodge Charger SRT8. The latter has strutted alone in Detroit’s arena of civilian rear-wheel-drive muscle sedans since 2009, when GM pulled Pontiac’s plug and with it the SS’s excellent predecessor, the G8. While both the Charger and SS are more sensible than their two-door siblings, the Challenger and the Camaro, these old-school tire smokers cement their relevance by not really giving a damn about it.
Still, Chevrolet wants you to know that its new halo sedan is the brand’s first rear-drive four-door V-8 in nearly 20 years. The SS is as American as can be for a Euro-inspired car built in Elizabeth, South Australia, which is absolutely nowhere near Sydney or any place with a working telephone. Known as the Holden Commodore SS in its home market, the Chevy SS is GM’s third attempt to domesticate one of its excellent Australian models—after the ill-fated Pontiac GTO coupe and G8 sedan.
The Commodore’s current VF chassis (so named for the Aussie fashion of giving each new version of a model its own two-letter code) has been updated from the VE structure that we loved in the G8, but it’s still the same bits that's underneath the stubbier Chevrolet Camaro and the stretched Caprice PPV police cruiser. Additional aluminum in the suspension, subframes, hood, and trunklid helps the SS shed more than 100 pounds from the G8. Holden paid special attention to overall refinement and noise insulation, while a new electrical system supports all of the company’s latest safety and entertainment gear, including the feared switch to electric power steering.
A low-volume unicorn for the brand, the handful of SSs to be imported each year will all be pretty much fully equipped and ready to boogie for $45,770, including a $1300 gas-guzzler fee slapped on the sole engine—a 415-hp, 6.2-liter LS3 V-8. GM’s six-speed 6L80 automatic is sadly the only transmission offered. Although a power sunroof ($900) and a spare tire ($500) are optional, the sporty suspension, Brembo front brakes, and 19-inch wheels with performance tires are all standard.
The Charger SRT8 was last updated in 2012. It’s now a thoroughly modern muscle car, with a sinister mien, a 470-hp 6.4-liter Hemi V-8, driver-adjustable adaptive suspension, and even larger Brembo brakes all around. The Charger also is automatic-only, with just an old five-speed unit until ZF’s ubiquitous eight-speed enters service.
Although budget Super Bee versions of the 2014 SRT start at $45,380 (including $1000 in guzzler tax), the regular SRT is $3000 more and closer to 50 grand when equipped like the Chevrolet. Our test car was a 2013 model mechanically identical to the 2014 SRT; it blossomed from its $47,475 base price to $55,150 with the 2013-only 392 Edition appearance package ($2495), as well as a Harman/Kardon audio system ($1995) and Laguna leather seats ($1495), plus summer performance rubber and a few electronic watchdogs and gizmos that are standard on the SS.
As chest-thumping totems for their respective makes, these cars are here to claim bragging rights. So, after the obligatory burnouts, we headed for the last vestiges of fall color in rain-soaked northern Michigan to see which car best re-imagines the great American performance sedan.
12-27-2013, 04:49 PM
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Second Place - Dodge Charger SRT8 392 HEMI
With roots in the DaimlerChrysler era, the Charger, like the Chevy, has global genes. (It’s imported, too, from an assembly plant in Ontario, Canada.) But as a proper Mopar, the SRT8 is simply bigger and badder looking than the Chevy ever will be.
The Charger’s extra-strength Hemi rumbles to life with authority and always feels ready to overwhelm the rear Goodyears with its 470 pound-feet of torque. Our best runs happened without the car’s launch-control software and required a careful throttle foot to optimize wheelspin. Get it right and 60 mph passes in 4.2 seconds, three ticks quicker than in the SS. A similar gap exists at the quarter-mile mark (12.6 seconds to 12.9), with the Charger reaching 114 mph to the Chevy’s 111. The momentum continues to a drag-limited 178 mph, long after the SS’s 160-mph governor kicks in.
While the SRT’s 0.90 g of grip on the skidpad can’t match the Chevrolet’s amazing 0.95-g effort, it did need one less foot to stop from 70 mph (in a short 152 feet). It almost tied the SS’s speed in our slalom test and returned the same 17-mpg average during our 700-mile road trip. Recognizing the importance of such figures to owners, Dodge includes a nifty performance meter in the Charger’s cluster, as well as cup-holder-like recesses in the underhood plastic for lengthy driveway debates about pushrods and engine-block paint.
The big Dodge looks the bruiser, too, particularly with our 392’s black accents and darkened 20-inch wheels. A numbered badge on the console lends some exclusivity, even though the black roof and rollers are available on all SRT-fettled Chargers. Combined with the beat of a large-displacement V-8, the SRT8 channels the old-timey vibe of the Pentastar’s Nixon-era classics.
But with 19 points separating it and the SS, along with higher base and as-tested prices, the Charger would need to actually transport us back to Woodward Avenue in its heyday to be considered the winner. At 4371 pounds, the Dodge is 440 pounds heavier than the Chevy and feels every ounce of it. Its dashboard is as wide as a Ram pickup’s, and the pinched windows and high cowl amplify the sense of corpulence.
An overly stiff suspension carries the bulk. Body roll is tolerable and the adjustable dampers give tight control with auto, sport, and track settings, but all the choices are excessively firm. The stiff legs unsettle the chassis over sections of road that didn’t faze the Chevrolet. Along with hydraulically assisted steering that’s somehow less communicative than the SS’s electric setup, the Charger is a blunt weapon that feels large and detached in rough use.
Despite the intuitive touch screen, heated-and-cooled cup holders, and adaptive cruise control, the Dodge’s inferiority creeps into its cabin like a haze of burnt rubber. Some of us preferred the support of the thickly bolstered SRT seats, but overall material quality, design and refinement fall well short of the overachieving Chevy’s.
The SRT’s loud-and-proud character is true to muscle-car tradition, and that’s sufficient for many in the Mopar choir. But the SS is simply the better car in every other measure.
Highs - A Hemi V-8, classic Mopar ’tude, user-friendly controls.
Lows - Brutal ride, brittle interior, feels massive, muted steering, can get expensive.
Verdict - A retro powerhouse proudly short on grace.
With roots in the DaimlerChrysler era, the Charger, like the Chevy, has global genes. (It’s imported, too, from an assembly plant in Ontario, Canada.) But as a proper Mopar, the SRT8 is simply bigger and badder looking than the Chevy ever will be.
The Charger’s extra-strength Hemi rumbles to life with authority and always feels ready to overwhelm the rear Goodyears with its 470 pound-feet of torque. Our best runs happened without the car’s launch-control software and required a careful throttle foot to optimize wheelspin. Get it right and 60 mph passes in 4.2 seconds, three ticks quicker than in the SS. A similar gap exists at the quarter-mile mark (12.6 seconds to 12.9), with the Charger reaching 114 mph to the Chevy’s 111. The momentum continues to a drag-limited 178 mph, long after the SS’s 160-mph governor kicks in.
While the SRT’s 0.90 g of grip on the skidpad can’t match the Chevrolet’s amazing 0.95-g effort, it did need one less foot to stop from 70 mph (in a short 152 feet). It almost tied the SS’s speed in our slalom test and returned the same 17-mpg average during our 700-mile road trip. Recognizing the importance of such figures to owners, Dodge includes a nifty performance meter in the Charger’s cluster, as well as cup-holder-like recesses in the underhood plastic for lengthy driveway debates about pushrods and engine-block paint.
The big Dodge looks the bruiser, too, particularly with our 392’s black accents and darkened 20-inch wheels. A numbered badge on the console lends some exclusivity, even though the black roof and rollers are available on all SRT-fettled Chargers. Combined with the beat of a large-displacement V-8, the SRT8 channels the old-timey vibe of the Pentastar’s Nixon-era classics.
But with 19 points separating it and the SS, along with higher base and as-tested prices, the Charger would need to actually transport us back to Woodward Avenue in its heyday to be considered the winner. At 4371 pounds, the Dodge is 440 pounds heavier than the Chevy and feels every ounce of it. Its dashboard is as wide as a Ram pickup’s, and the pinched windows and high cowl amplify the sense of corpulence.
An overly stiff suspension carries the bulk. Body roll is tolerable and the adjustable dampers give tight control with auto, sport, and track settings, but all the choices are excessively firm. The stiff legs unsettle the chassis over sections of road that didn’t faze the Chevrolet. Along with hydraulically assisted steering that’s somehow less communicative than the SS’s electric setup, the Charger is a blunt weapon that feels large and detached in rough use.
Despite the intuitive touch screen, heated-and-cooled cup holders, and adaptive cruise control, the Dodge’s inferiority creeps into its cabin like a haze of burnt rubber. Some of us preferred the support of the thickly bolstered SRT seats, but overall material quality, design and refinement fall well short of the overachieving Chevy’s.
The SRT’s loud-and-proud character is true to muscle-car tradition, and that’s sufficient for many in the Mopar choir. But the SS is simply the better car in every other measure.
Highs - A Hemi V-8, classic Mopar ’tude, user-friendly controls.
Lows - Brutal ride, brittle interior, feels massive, muted steering, can get expensive.
Verdict - A retro powerhouse proudly short on grace.
12-27-2013, 04:50 PM
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First Place - Chevrolet Super Sport
GM’s ex-executive car guy Bob Lutz said the Pontiac G8 was too good to waste and might return to the U.S. someday as a Chevrolet, and he did not lie. The SS is proof.
Largely inspired by the 1997–2003 E39 BMW 5-series, the SS’s Holden chassis is a monument to sports-sedan fundamentals. Whereas the Charger bucks about and struggles for grip on rough, twisty pavement, the Chevrolet’s nonadjustable, one-size-fits-all suspension keeps it compliant yet planted on sticky Bridgestones. The accelerator pedal can adjust the car’s cornering attitude as effectively as the precise steering, which progressively builds in feedback and effort despite some numbness on-center. With plenty of confidence, the SS’s lateral grip bests not only that from GM’s last Cadillac CTS-V, but the current Audi S6 and BMW M5 as well.
Much of the SS’s poise is due to good front-rear distribution of its 3931 pounds, barely 100 more than the latest front-drive Impala sedan with a V-6. The firm brakes feel more responsive managing the lower mass. The car also changes direction quickly and more assertively than Dodge’s freighter does.
Although the 6.2-liter small-block is down 55 horsepower to the big Hemi, the Chevy’s lighter weight and better traction make it easier to launch at the test track and just as quick as its rival out in the real world. The 12.9-second quarter-mile pass is a solid performance. A superior transmission helps to hurry things, with the six-speed shifting smoothly and never hunting for the proper ratio. The SS still deserves a true manual, but the 6L80’s “sport” setting wakes up the car without being annoying, and the wheel-mounted paddles click off rev-matched downshifts that the Charger’s smaller, slipperier spoke toggles can’t.
The Chevrolet is more pleasant to cruise in, too, with great seats all around and premium details. The SS doesn’t have the supercharged pull or the big price tag of the burly CTS-V, but it feels like the Caddy’s equal or better in refinement and overall quality. GM’s latest MyLink interface works well in the SS’s sensible layout, which no longer includes the odd, foreign-market quirks found in the old G8 and GTO.
While the LS3 gently rocks the car at idle and emits a rowdy snarl from its pipes, the SS lacks the Charger’s outright swagger on the street. It’s classier and more reserved in its athleticism, despite its purposeful stance. Having to correct the unacquainted that this is not a fancy Malibu is one of the SS driver’s very few irritants, along with the car’s limited availability. We expect that Chevy will import only a few thousand examples each year. After our time in both comparo cars, though, the SS’s 45 grand feels completely justified. Even a bargain for what you get.
The SS is a rare gem whose name underscores its well-deserved place in Chevy’s heritage. It may not be made in America, but the SS is perfectly at home here.
Highs - Excellent handling balance, refined interior, great looks, potent LS3 V-8.
Lows - Limited availability, could be mistaken for lesser Chevys, no manual offered.
Verdict - The gifted offspring of a BMW M5 and a Chevy Camaro SS.
GM’s ex-executive car guy Bob Lutz said the Pontiac G8 was too good to waste and might return to the U.S. someday as a Chevrolet, and he did not lie. The SS is proof.
Largely inspired by the 1997–2003 E39 BMW 5-series, the SS’s Holden chassis is a monument to sports-sedan fundamentals. Whereas the Charger bucks about and struggles for grip on rough, twisty pavement, the Chevrolet’s nonadjustable, one-size-fits-all suspension keeps it compliant yet planted on sticky Bridgestones. The accelerator pedal can adjust the car’s cornering attitude as effectively as the precise steering, which progressively builds in feedback and effort despite some numbness on-center. With plenty of confidence, the SS’s lateral grip bests not only that from GM’s last Cadillac CTS-V, but the current Audi S6 and BMW M5 as well.
Much of the SS’s poise is due to good front-rear distribution of its 3931 pounds, barely 100 more than the latest front-drive Impala sedan with a V-6. The firm brakes feel more responsive managing the lower mass. The car also changes direction quickly and more assertively than Dodge’s freighter does.
Although the 6.2-liter small-block is down 55 horsepower to the big Hemi, the Chevy’s lighter weight and better traction make it easier to launch at the test track and just as quick as its rival out in the real world. The 12.9-second quarter-mile pass is a solid performance. A superior transmission helps to hurry things, with the six-speed shifting smoothly and never hunting for the proper ratio. The SS still deserves a true manual, but the 6L80’s “sport” setting wakes up the car without being annoying, and the wheel-mounted paddles click off rev-matched downshifts that the Charger’s smaller, slipperier spoke toggles can’t.
The Chevrolet is more pleasant to cruise in, too, with great seats all around and premium details. The SS doesn’t have the supercharged pull or the big price tag of the burly CTS-V, but it feels like the Caddy’s equal or better in refinement and overall quality. GM’s latest MyLink interface works well in the SS’s sensible layout, which no longer includes the odd, foreign-market quirks found in the old G8 and GTO.
While the LS3 gently rocks the car at idle and emits a rowdy snarl from its pipes, the SS lacks the Charger’s outright swagger on the street. It’s classier and more reserved in its athleticism, despite its purposeful stance. Having to correct the unacquainted that this is not a fancy Malibu is one of the SS driver’s very few irritants, along with the car’s limited availability. We expect that Chevy will import only a few thousand examples each year. After our time in both comparo cars, though, the SS’s 45 grand feels completely justified. Even a bargain for what you get.
The SS is a rare gem whose name underscores its well-deserved place in Chevy’s heritage. It may not be made in America, but the SS is perfectly at home here.
Highs - Excellent handling balance, refined interior, great looks, potent LS3 V-8.
Lows - Limited availability, could be mistaken for lesser Chevys, no manual offered.
Verdict - The gifted offspring of a BMW M5 and a Chevy Camaro SS.
12-29-2013, 10:17 AM
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I'm just stunned to see the Chevy has a nicer interior... WOW! Talk about rare.
As usual though, the "muscle car" with more of a drag racing capability is called 2nd place, as if they just don't know why the cars were really built. I'm not sure I don't like the SS better personally, but it is short on power to the ultra-heavy HEMI car... and I'm just glad that weight difference is there. #1 reason: I don't want to see another car adding weight. #2 reason: It would've really embarrassed the SS if it were so "light." I still wish it were, but only because that would be cool.
My jury is still out on this because I haven't seen enough of the SS to make a decision. So far, so good, but the Dodge is still a sweet car.
As usual though, the "muscle car" with more of a drag racing capability is called 2nd place, as if they just don't know why the cars were really built. I'm not sure I don't like the SS better personally, but it is short on power to the ultra-heavy HEMI car... and I'm just glad that weight difference is there. #1 reason: I don't want to see another car adding weight. #2 reason: It would've really embarrassed the SS if it were so "light." I still wish it were, but only because that would be cool.
My jury is still out on this because I haven't seen enough of the SS to make a decision. So far, so good, but the Dodge is still a sweet car.
12-29-2013, 05:03 PM
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I thought the interior of the SS is better personally. Sweet car, would love to do some engine and exterior mods to them, I bet the SS can be made to look downright sinister.
